The Village of River Forest is a non-home rule community with a Village President and Board of Trustees elected at large and a professional Village Administrator who runs the day to day operations of the Village. River Forest was incorporated as a municipality in 1880. The Village of River Forest is a mature community located approximately 10 miles west of downtown Chicago. The Village is home to 11,172 residents, an assortment of businesses and two universities: Concordia and Dominican. The Village is bounded on its west side by the Des Plaines River and large tracts of Cook County Forest Preserves. River Forest is bordered to the east by Oak Park, to the south by Forest Park, to the north by Elmwood Park, and to the west, across the Des Plaines River, by Melrose Park and Maywood. River Forest is centrally and conveniently located in the Chicago metropolitan area and it is well served by an efficient roadway network and mass transportation system.